Current Budget Speakers Queries

[Cymcune]

Hello,

Am new to the world of purchasing PC speakers and would like to make some inquiries, appreciate your patience and kind advice. I have a tiny bit of experience in auditioning headphones and trying out guitar amps.

Ideally I'm aiming for a 2.1 system for PC, mostly for music (movies/gaming etc unimportant), budget is $40-65.

Googling a bit shows a few brands, but most of those threads are quite dated or concern queries over very specific models. Things can change quite a lot in a few years and I think I should start out looking broadly. Am looking for dedicated and relevant recommendations from people who know better than me.


This is the little that I do know:

• a. Auditioning is an absolute must. What recommendations work for someone are usually good to check out, but may not always apply to everyone.
  
• b. It's not easy to find good service, especially when you're not planning to spend a ton. Salespeople are also more able to help if you can rattle off some basic models you're interested in.
  
• c. Have scouted a few threads and websites, and some brands pop up consistently: Creative, Logitech, Altec Lansing, Sony.

All this in mind, these are my questions, in decreasing order of importance:

• 1. Where should I go to audition budget systems? (Which places are friendly for someone who's not loaded and wants to try many different things?)
  
• 2. What are properties/flaws which I should be looking out for when I audition?
  
• 3. What other brands do I look out for? (What are the top players in the budget market?)

Thanks very much.